advice please DGS requires speech therapy

Both my two DC were referred for speech therapy Cherry, at similar ages. DS couldn't say "s" - said "f" so for example "farmer" was "sarmer". Of course he just gradually grew out of it and became a very fluent and non-stop chatter box.

DD lisped and still does, The therapist decided that her tongue was slightly too big for her mouth so signed her off.

There is nothing to fear from speech therapy - they just help you to practise speech with the child - nursery rhymes, reading aloud, singing etc. I am sure your little DGS will soon start to chat - he is very young - and you will wonder why you worried so! Good luck!

DGS2 had speech therapy for a while when he started nursery as they were concerned about his poor speech. It helped DD3 to see that she was doing all the right things with him (it was a joint session with 5 others, who were definitely not doing the right things!!) About 3 months later it all came tumbling out and he hasn't stopped talking since.

I think it is a good thing to have had it recognised because if there is a real problem, rather than just slow speech, it can be dealt with. DD2's friend is a speech therapist and says that treatment is usually very successful.

I think lots of children forget 'old' words when they learn a new one.

DS1 was quite slow to speak but was just biding his time and there didn't seem to be the urgency 40 odd years ago!

Please let us know how things work out.

DS didn't say much apart from a few words until he was about two and a half then suddenly starting talking in sentences.
I didn't worry too much (and no-one suggested speech therapy in those days) because DN said nothing much at all until he was three.
Both now have degrees and responsible jobs.

Perhaps he is taking it all in and processing it before he starts speaking.

I had a friend whose child barely spoke at all until he was three, just grunted. As his first appointment arrived to see a speech therapist,he decided to speak, quite fluently. He was later found to be dyslexic, but I do not think there is any link between two problems.

Our DGD is 2 and a bit but says very few words, mama, dada, nana (for banana) yah (posh for yes!) and ta are about her range. Amazingly we have a child who doesn't say no!!!
However, she does understand everything that's said to her so we aren't particularly worried.
She was a tiny preemie and is remarkable the way she has come on. At her last hospital appointment the consultant was going to refer her to speech therapy but as yet (more than six months later) nothing has come through from them.

My daughter started her at nursery one day a week to help, but speech wise she hasn't really got any better.

I was a late speaker as was my daughter (she was the same, understood everything, said almost nothing) so the wee one is only following family tradition! When the floodgates do open we will no doubt wish she would be quiet! ?

My DD attended speech therapy from the age of three. The therapist showed her a picture book and asked her to name the pictures, she pronounced every one of them wrongly except for garage.
In her language a field was tiel. I had to interpret for her, even her Dad struggled to understand her. By school age though, she was speaking perfectly.
That being said. DGS 2 has been seeing a speech therapist since age 2 1/2 and has made very little progress, he's 5 1/2 now and still very difficult to understand. He has high functioning autism (as yet not diagnosed) and the speech therapist says that as he knows what he is saying, he believes that fault lies with others if they don't understand him! Until he realises that his speech is difficult to understand, he doesn't see the need to change it.

cherrytree your GS sounds delightful. I hope you are reassured by the experience of other Gransnetters.

My DGD had awful speech before going to school. No one seemed to care but her Mum had to interpret for her because she had a language all of her own.

I actually paid for a private speech therapist to visit and assess her.

He gave my DD some exercises. To do with her and some instructions for the rest of the family to follow and now 4 years later she speaks well. She sometimes gets lazy and reverts to 'Wudolph the Wed Nosed Weindeer' but we always correct her and she knows how to say it properly.

I don't think there's anything to worry about, children all progress at different rates and if they need a little help I'm all for it . By school age you'll be wondering what you were ever worried about.

cherrytree please don't worry too much. Early intervention is so important so make sure he takes up the sessions and gets the help he needs. The earlier he gets help the more successful it will be. But there is a shortage of speech therapists and you may find yourself having to insist that he gets the help after he has been assessed. My friend's daughter had about 5 therapists in one year, they kept moving on, having babies etc. Each one had to re-assess her, build a relationship and then try to improve her speech-it was a nightmare. Hope all goes well.

Both my sons and two of my grandsons have had speech therapy. My daughter and I could understand them but no one else could when they were very young. The therapist told me that boys seem to need it more than girls. It worked wonders and most of the problems were ironed out by the time they were ready for school. As far as the GS's are concerned, they are still seeing the therapist - not major problems but unable to pronounce certain sounds and a tendency to stammer when they have a lot to say.

I never understand why people see this as a problem - I had to fight to get my son speech therapy and it took until he was 5yrs. Early intervention is wonderful. Both my sons had speech therapy. My brother had it. They all speak well now! I can't see why you are 'shaken' - be thrilled that he is caught early.

My DGS is over 2 and a half and has delayed speech. He is only now managing a very few words, not terribly clearly, but we can tell what they are by the inflexion and context. He passed the audiology tests and has been referred to a speech therapist. We aren't overly concerned, as it's clear he's a bright little boy. His brother wasn't an early talker either and now, at nearly 10, is a bright and intelligent child.
So please don't worry Cherrytree - as you can see from the posts here, it is much more common than you think.

My grandson showed little interest in talking until he was just over three. His nursery started to worry that he wouldn't be talking by the time he went to school at 4. A tick box problem I think. He was referred for speech therapy. By the time his appointment came through he was talking well and by five he had a surprisingly large vocabulary.

Cherrytrees - the therapy may well either make no difference or positively help him. It's not something to worry about. He'll most likely find it an interesting activity.

DS had ST between 4-5 he showed difficulty with certain letter sounds but after a couple of blocks of weekly sessions he's never looked back. By the time he started school he had no speech problems.
DGS who will be 4 in a few weeks has been having sessions on and off for two years now. I would go in with him and the whole thing to him was a game. The therapist would devise things like blow football and bubble blowing games to help him form his mouth/tongue into the correct shape. He loves Joanna and thinks a visit to her is a treat
Please don't be too concerned S.A.L.T. are amazing in what they can help a patient??? achieve.

My DGS was the same Gagagran with the s and f. If he was hungry he would ask for 'sood'. He is six now and it has virtually corrected itself. He had speech therapy and everyone was relaxed about it. He is bright and happy and, though he was late starting to talk, he understood everything and babbled constantly as a tiny tot. He has always been talked to and read to a lot and his younger sister is fine. Don't worry Cherrytree I expect he will be perfectly OK soon.

My Son, now 41 and particularly articulate, needed speech therapy at the age of four. I had to fight for this because the doctors said he was just a slow speaker but I knew it was more than that. I am called Nain (nine) due to my Welsh connections and his word for that was "Ta". He thought he was saying the right words but the sounds coming out bore no relation so that led to a lot of frustration when we were unable to satisfy his requests. After six months of speech therapy he was speaking perfectly properly. Their techniques are different to how we might tackle it. For instance, to encourage his "fs" I was getting him to repeat words like flower, but instead of words starting with the difficult letter, they use words with it in the middle. So please do not be alarmed. It really is a very common situation and can be overcome with the right treatment. I suppose "therapy" sounds a bit drastic; think of it more as correction.

Our DS2 was referred for speech therapy at 2.5, everyone kept telling me that once he started talking he'd struggle to stop, so true. My nephew was even later talking, he didn't have speech therapy but had to start talking when his new child minder refused to respond to his sign language.
i think in both cases it was something to do with being second child.

Thank you so much you have all put my mind at rest.
A lot of what has been so thoughtfully said I can to relate to with my DGS.
I am going to take on board all the good advice. Which I can also pass on to my DD.
I am now feeling much more positive,
Gransnet is great
Where else can you get such positive information and personal experience

My youngest grandson had speech therapy just after he started at nursery aged just turned 3. He chattered a lot, and we could understand him, but they were concerned about it, so he had 3 sessions with a therapist who came to the nursery. One day she gave him a pile of cards with pictures on, asked him to tell her what they were. He got one wrong, he came to a picture of a mouse, and said "RAT"! Well, he was nearly right!